This is not your typical cupcake. Or your typical breakfast item. It's much better. Try these Chocolate Bacon cupcakes before you judge them. They're delicious. I don't know if I can go back to plain-jane chocolate cupcakes again ;)
Ingredients:
12 slices bacon
2 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 cups sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup strong coffee, cooled
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla
Cook all of the bacon until it's VERY crisp. If you can bend it without breaking it, keep cooking it, It's not done enough. My preferred method of bacon cooking is in a glass pie plate in the microwave, but you can also fry or bake it, whichever method you prefer. Place the cooked bacon on paper towels and let some grease drain off.
mmmm... bacon!
Brew your coffee while your bacon is cooking and put it in the fridge, so it has time to cool. The coffee flavor is not very noticeable in the finished cupcake, but it brings out the flavor of the chocolate wonderfully.
Add all of your dry ingredients (flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt) to a bowl and mix them together.
Make a well in the middle and add the wet ingredients. (eggs, coffee, buttermilk, oil) Mix until smooth. I just used a wooden spoon, but you can use a mixer, it doesn't make a difference.
Crumble the bacon and add most of it to the batter. Leave some out to sprinkle on top of the finished cupcakes.
bacon and chocolate... together at last
Mix the bacon into the batter.
Pour batter into cupcake papers until 2/3 full. (or add 1/4 cup batter to each one)
Bake at 375° F for 20-25 minutes.
Let the cupcakes cool, then frost. Here's the frosting I used:
Melt 1 stick of butter. Add 2 T cocoa powder. Add 3 cups powdered sugar and 1/3 cup heavy cream or milk (alternating between the two until they are all combined) Then add 1 tsp vanilla.
After the cupcakes are frosted, sprinkle the remaining bacon bits on top. I also covered small pieces of bacon with melted chocolate as a garnish.
eat me!
I love these cupcakes. They have such a nice, rich complex flavor and the cupcake has such a nice fluffy texture.
